IT is usually the other way round but with the clamour for the glamour of the silver screens, this dynamism in business of filmmaking points to degradation in the creative sector, and as this may be peculiar to Nigeria, it is high time we cried foul before it gets endemic.
Why? We cannot move one step forward and two steps backward and claim that our industry is growing.
In a business that feeds the GDP of other nations, how can we evolve when a trend that erodes quality is the order of the day?
When an employee credits the bank account of their supposed employer to get monthly pay slips that give the impression that they are employed, that’s asserting that bribery is not the same thing as corruption.
An actor is an employee of the producer who in turn empowers the most senior employee; the film director to take the captain’s seat.
If the saying that, he who pays the piper dictates the tune is anything to go by, then the organogram of the movie production line is disrupted.
For example, how does a director chides an actor over their shortcomings on set? What does the contract even look like in the event that the actor is buying his space in the movie production? Tell me how such an actor won’t dictate to their supposed boss, either directly or indirectly.
I figure that an actor who pays to get a role demands a lead role, depending on how much is in context. I figure also that an actor who chooses to buy his space is either not a professional in the business or not talented enough to get a role on merit. This is bound to tell on the outcome of the production, in a negative way too.
I imagine that if the trend is not discouraged, and very soon too, we may begin to see productions in which the entire cast are self-employed, and invariably, co-owners of the film project. Can you imagine a battalion of charlatans interpreting roles in a movie? There is no gainsaying that not only will ethics be eroded, creative license which is already an ‘ass’, will be so glaringly insulted that play will amount to child’s play.
I had written against communal form of filmmaking among some Yoruba filmmakers who, in this century, have chosen to carry on the model of the old theatre practice whereby actors reciprocate gestures by performing free of charge. This current trend of paying filmmakers for a role is even worse for business.
How did we get here? There had been stories of sex for roles in Nollywood, and no doubt, some of the actresses we see today may have used such gratifications to get to limelight. Perhaps when the scene became more competitive with many willing to gratify the filmmaker in ‘kind’, cash became a more veritable offering, either in total or in addition to ‘kind’.
Ever since cash became an option, it probably got the male wannabes thinking that this is fair ground for all.
Notable comic actor and director, Charles Inojie, offered a perspective recently while criticising this trend. His thoughts on the issue were captured below:
“In those days, people had more discipline in the industry. Discipline has been eroded in the movie industry. For example, in the past, when someone was called a director, it would be obvious that the person had earned the name, but these days anybody just assumes that role.
“There are many people who do not really want a career; they just want to use Nollywood as a springboard for them to promote their other businesses. When there is no discipline and order, it trickles down the line. In those days, when an actor came on set, their first question would be: who is the director? If it was a name they couldn’t risk connecting their reputation with, they would leave the job.
“I think people should be trained, I even hear they pay for roles these days; which should be the other way round. These things have affected the quality of movies in the industry. The solution to this problem is to strengthen the guild to function; they should be able to reprimand their members when they err. The guild should be empowered to organise training but the government also has a role to play in this,” Charles Inojie said.
Whether we like it or not, the trend is a rot. It is not healthy for the business aspect of the show in the creative space.
If the guilds and associations are getting livid due to internal politics, and cannot uphold ethics as they used to do, perhaps the time is now, more than ever, for the much proposed Motion Pictures Practitioners Council of Nigeria (MOPPICON) to step in.